The Great Anchor
On a typical day in the bustling market of Diobel, merchants hawk their wares, children play, and adults discuss current events. They comment on the weather, trade for cloth to prepare for winter, and other such inconsequential things, blissful in the smallness of their little lives, in their little city, on their little world. Three men in particular, ignorant of anything more than their daily business, are about to find out just how small their reality truly is. People in the streets stop and stare upward, quizzically pointing into the distance at an object hanging in the sky. Something is falling... and heading straight for the market square! People scramble and run for cover as the object plummets, and collides with the ground, throwing up a cloud of earth and debris. A merchant cries out in dismay: his cart has been crushed by what appears to be a very typical, if overly large, ship's anchor. A rope tied to the anchor runs skyward, a seemingly impossible distance up, before disappearing into the clouds. The people gather and stare, baffled by the event. A man with a looking glass tries to spot the end of the rope to no avail, scholars examine the anchor but glean no answers. A headstrong gnome attempts to climb the endless rope but makes little progress before the winds force him down. After much speculation, the dumbfounded crowd no closer to an answer, a new object is spotted in the sky. A platform, guided by the rope, descends to the ground. The platform slows to a stop above the ground and four men climb down a simple rope ladder to greet the befuddled gathering. The leader, John Tobart, introduces himself. A charismatic and intelligent looking man, he warns the crowd of a great danger: The Ravager. A creature of such immense power it can destroy their entire island, and it has been spotted heading this way. John explains that the Ravager lives on a floating island, and that his airship is the quickest way to intercept and stop this evil. His power alone insufficient to stop the threat, John calls to any capable heroes amongst them to join him. Three men step forward. Yorick Morack, the gnome cavalier seeking riches and adventure, Grey-eye Deadtalker, the half orc oracle hoping to protect his clan, and Octavius Capo Thundertone, the human bard, searching for the greatest stories and songs to share. The three heroes bravely step onto the platform and John takes them to his ship, the Skyrunner. As John introduces the party to the rest of the crew and and familiarizes them with the ship, the Skyrunner begins it's ascent. The party head to the upper deck, excited to see the airship in action... Only to find a sight they did not expect. Where they expected blue skies, they find and endless black void, dotted by occasional dots of light. Behind them a small blue and green ball hangs against the dark backdrop. It takes them a moment to process, but the contours of the land masses are unmistakable... the party's homeworld, Golarion, is shrinking into the darkness behind them. John apologizes to the confused party. He feared if he told the truth they wouldn't believe him and he'd be laughed away. John explains the basic physics of the interplanetary universe, and elaborates on the Ravager. What John has said is still true, the Ravager is a being of immense evil and is heading towards their homeworld. It has the capability to destroy their entire planet and John needs their help to stop it. The Skyrunner plots a course for the last known location of their target and their journey begins... As the journey drags on, the party notices strange behavior in the crew. Stonecrop, the first mate, turns out to be a poorly-disguised flesh golem. Gulug, the helmsmen, with webbed feet and long tongue, acts strangely. John Tobart himself acts increasingly irritated and unaccommodating as the journey continues, getting aggressive and distant. He frequently disappears to his cabin and is evasive and uncooperative when it comes to questions about the Ravager and his plans for defeating it. He eludes to artifacts he owns that will help overcome the Ravager's defenses but goes into little detail. Grey-eye Deadtalker sets into motion a plan to infiltrate the captain's store rooms and discover the truth behind these artifacts... Next Session: The Hive Category:Session Summary